Cushions



l. L. MARSHACK 3,486,177

Dec. 30, 1969 CUSHIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 20. 1966 INVENTOR.

/RV/N6 L. MARS/7546K BY W a Filed Sept. 20, 1966 Dec. 30, 1969 l. 1..MARSHACK 3,486,177

CUSHIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR new/v6 MARSHACK ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,486,177 CUSHIONS Irving L. Marshack, La Jolla, Calif.,assignor to Califoam Corporation of America, Compton, Calif., acorporation of California Filed Sept. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 580,654 Int.Cl. A47c 23/00, 25/00, 27/00 US. Cl. 347 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to cushions and moreparticularly to a fluid pervious rubber-like cellular pad especiallyadapted for use in combination with a mattress for supporting hospitalpatients.

It has been proposed heretofore to provide fluid pervious seat cushionsor the like and one such device is disclosed in US. Patent 2,826,244.The seat cushion described in the patent is provided with a plurality oflongitudinal bores which communicate with a pump or other means forbuilding up air pressure. The air is then forced out through the opencellular structure of the seat cushion body to surround an occupant withcool air. However, a major disadvantage of such a construction is thatthe air passageways are more compressible than the surrounding cushionbody so that when the cushion is supporting the weight of an occupantthe passageways collapse, making it diflicult to force air through themand into the open cellular structure of the cushion.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improvedcushioning means adapted to disperse fluids uniformly about an occupantwhich is devoid of the foregoing disadvantages.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cushioning pad ofa rubber-like material having an open cellular structure adapted toreceive fluids under pressure and disperse them about an occupantwithout the build-up of excessive back pressure in the construction.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a fluid circulationassembly adapted to circulate a fluid substantially uniformly about anyportion of an occupant adjacent to one surface thereof.

Still further, it is an object of the invention to provide a cellularthermoplastic material adapted to cooperate with a mattress to providean environment for treating an occupant with a fluid atmosphere.

FIGURE 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention in which acushioning pad is combined with a mattress or other suitable supportingmeans;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the combination of FIG- URE 1, partially insection, in which the cushioning pad has passageways in it adapted toreceive the tubes from which fluid is introduced;

FIGURE 3 is an illustration of another embodiment of the invention inwhich a rigid sheet or support is situated between the fluid introducingtubes andthe cushioning p FIGURE 4 illustrates an embodiment of a fluidbarrier which may be used in the combination of FIGURE 1 to insureproper direction of fluid flow; and

FIGURE 5 illustrates another embodiment of a fluid barrier which may beused in the combination of FIG- URE 1.

The foregoing objects and others are accomplished in accordance withthis invention, generally speaking, by providing a cushioning meanshaving a flexible rubber- Iike cellular body or pad with a fluidpervious surface adapted to lie adjacent to and disperse a fluidatmosphere uniformly about an occupant. The cellular body or padlikestructure is made from an open-celled, flexible thermoplastic materialand has top and bottom surfaces which are fluid pervious and fluidimpervious sidewalls. The pervious surface of the padopposite that whichis to be adjacent to the occupant is covered with a fluid impervioussheet coextensive with at least part of the pervious surface to preventsubstantial escape of fluid from that surface; between the sheet and theadjacent pervious surface of the pad are situated one or more perforatedtubes or passageways which are less compressible than the foam and whichare adapted to receive fluids under pressure. Fluid is directed from thepassageways through the bottom pervious surface of the pad to theopposite previous surface via the communicating open cells of the pad,thus insuring uniform distribution of the fluids about the occupant.

The fluid circulation assembly provided by this invention isparticularly well suited for use as a topper pad on a mattress to beused where it is desirable to provide an atmosphere of a particularfluid about an occupant. The mattress or any other suitable foundationor supporting structure with which the aforedescribed fluid circulationassembly is to be used may be of any suitable construction as long as itadequately supports the assembly without substantial distortion ormovement of the fluid impervious sheet lying adjacent the fluid pervioussurface of the pad.

In this regard, the mattress or supporting structure and fluidcirculation assembly may have any desired configuration and size and maybe round, square, rectangular, elliptical, ovoid, trianguler, hexagonal,pentagonal and the like. Thus any shape may be used and any and allshapes and sizes are contemplated. It is clear, then, that in additionto being used in mattress constructions, the expedient of this inventionmay be utilized in cushions and furniture as well as in automobiles andany other type of structure which will admit of the use of such astructure, although its main import resides in its adaptability to thetreatment of patients in conjunction with a mattress or similarsupporting structure. Further, in the preparation of the pads for thefluid circulating construction of this invention, although it ispreferred that the two pervious surfaces be substantially parallel toone another, it is also contemplated within the scope of this inventionthat the pad have a triangular cross-section, or a waving configurationsuch as is found, for example, in air mattresses and the like. Thus anycross-sectional shape as well as any shape for the perimeter of the padis contemplated, although a substantially rectangular configuration withsubstantially parallel fluid pervious surfaces is preferred forexpediency and ease of handling with the assembly.

It is readily apparent that with the assembly of this invention, theonly outlet for the fluid pumped into the cellular body upon which anoccupant rests is the surface upon which the occupant is situated. Thus,depending on the force of fluid pressure pumped into the assembly andthe size of the pores of the foam, the fluid may surround the occupantin great volumes or only in the smallest quantity, as desired. In thisregard, a fluid pervious covering material may be used on the surface ofthe pad to diffuse the fluid even more finely than can be achieved bymeans of the pore structure of the pad alone if so desired, or it may beused solely for aesthetic purposes. Nevertheless it is clear that bymeans of the control of the pressure of the fluid into the structure andthe pore structure of the pad itself as well as with the use of acovering material porous to the fluid being utilized, the patient,occupant or therapist or the like can control the flow of fluid aboutthe occupant with the highest degree of precision. Even further in thisregard, should it be so desired, the assembly can be used in anevacuating capacity by reversing the pumping mechanism to pull air orany other type of fluid into the assembly from the atmospheresurrounding the occupant. In this manner, a type of air conditioning ofthe occupant can be achieved with only the simplest and most economicalof mechanisms.

The most desirable type of material from which the pad of the instantassembly can be made is a flexible, open-celled polyurethane foam, andany suitable opencelled polyurethane foam material prepared inaccordance with any known method for making flexible foams such as, forexample, by the process disclosed in US. Patent 2,948,691 and Re. 24,514and the like patents may be used. For best results in the practice ofthe invention, it is most expedient to employ a polyurethane foam,although any other suitable flexible cellular material either natural orsynthetic such as, for example, foam rubber, polystyrene, polycarbonateand the like, which will permit a substantially uniform dispersion offluid in accordance with this invention may also be employed and all arecontemplated.

The pad to be used in the fluid circulating structure of this inventionmay be of any desired thickness such as, for example, from about /s orless up to several inches or more depending largely upon whether the padis to support the weight of an occupant or just lie against him. The padis preferably obtained by cutting it from a block of foam to the desiredconfiguration so that the sides are initially pervious and then wrappinga thin sheet of any suitable resinous material, such as, for example,polyvinyl chloride or a copolymer of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinylacetate around the edges of the block and fastening it thereto toprovide a fluid impervious barrier. Any other suitable fluid imperviousmaterials can be used as the fluid impervious material, such as, forexample, rubber, treated cloth, polyethylene, polyurethane,polycarbonate, polyesters and the like, but a resinous sheet is mostconvenient. Even further, the foam from which the pad is cut may havethe proper length and width measurements for the pad to be used in whichcase no pervious sheet need be used at the sides of the pad due to theimpervious nature of the skin that forms about a foaming polyurethanestructure. This may also be true for other types of cellular materialsin which case no sheet need be applied to the sides of the pad to beused in the instant assembly.

A resinous sheet or other similarly fluid impervious material asaforedescribed may also be used in the construction of the fluidimpervious barrier which is coextensive with and adjacent to the side ofthe structure which lies adjacent to the tubes or passageways from whichthe fluid is introduced.

Any type of fluid material desired may be pumped through theconstruction of this invention in order to accomplish the purpose athand. For example, in the treatment of a patient, it may be desirable tosurround the patient with an atmosphere of dry air and it may further bedesired to heat the air for the treatment. This can be achieved easilyand economically by means of the structure described herein. Cool orcold air may be similarly circulated as well as liquids and vapors, suchas, for example, of water. Further, any suitable fluids may be usedincluding nitrogen, hydrogen, ethers, pain-killing fluids, therapeuticfluids and the like. I i I Referring now to the drawing, one embodimentof the invention is illustrated in FIGURE 1. A flexible open celledblock or pad of polyurethane foam 1 is covered around the edges with avinyl sheet 13 having a thickness of about 0.05 inch. The underside ofpad 1 is not covered and has open cells so that it is fluid pervious. Afluid barrier is prepared by fastening tubes 3 which are lesscompressible than the foam and made of polyvinyl chloride, for example,to a fluid pervious sheet or support 2 with fittings 6. The tubes haveperforations 10 and join a common header or manifold 4. A tube 5 issealed to manifold 4 at one end and communicates at the other end with asource of fluid under pressure such as, for example, an air pump. Thetubes must be sufficiently rigid to withstand collapsing when cushion 1is compressed thereabout because of the weight of an occupant on theexposed surface of pad 1, and maybe fabricated of any suitable materialwhich is less compressible than the foam when in a tubular form,including natural materials, such as, for example, rubber, or syntheticmaterials, such as, for example, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane,polycarbonate and the like; metals such as, for example, iron, aluminumand the like, or any other suitable material, although polyvinylchloride is preferred.

As shown in FIGURE 2, pad 1 is assembled with a mattress or mattresssupport 7 with the fluid impervious barrier tube construction lyingtherebetween. The underside of pad 1 can have longitudinal panels orpassageways therein to receive any or all of the tubes 3, 4 and 5. Themattress support 7 illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 may be provided withsprings 8 or any other reinforcing or constructional expedient.

As illustrated in FIGURE 3, in one embodiment of the invention the fluidcirculation structure is provided with a fluid barrier 2 having tubes 3mounted thereon and with a rigid sheet-like structure 11 lying againstthe underside of pad 1 and on top of the tubes 3. The rigid member 11can be made from a rigid plastic material and has perforations 12communicating with perforations 10 in tubes 3. The rigid member 11protects the tubes 3 from collapsing when weight is applied to thesurface of pad 1, thus strengthening the assembly and also providingextra support as desired for an occupant. The rigid member may also befabricated with ridges or passageways in it adapted to receive the tubes3 and rest substantially on sheet 2 if desired.

In another embodiment of the invention, the tube for the introduction ofa fluid to the assembly may have a serpentine shape 3 and be secured bymeans of fastener 6 to the fluid barrier 2 illustrated in FIGURE 4. Thisembodiment precludes the necessity for a manifold and can be used inmany instances, particularly where the pad is small.

Various modifications of the described fluid circulation assembly can bemade in order to diversify its use and efliciency. In FIGURE 1, forexample, only one or two of the tubes 3 may be connected to the manifold4 and communicating tube 5 while the other tubes may be connected to amanifold on the opposite side of the construction which is connected toa pump by means of a tube similar to the communicating tube 5. Anembodiment of this type having barrier 2 manifolds 4 and 4acommunicating with tubes 3 and 3a having perforations 10 and 10a isillustrated in FIGURE 5. The fluid is fed into manifolds 4 and 4athrough tubes 5 and 5a. Fluid flow can be controlled by the valves shownin the manifold. Both pumps can be put into operation in order to elfecta whirlpool type of circulation of fluid about the patient for greatertherapeutic effect. Even further, if so desired, more tubes may be addedto the assembly or fewer may be used and they may be attached to themanifold 4 in a manner which permits their easy removal from the outletand capping of the outlet for greater pressure or for reducing thequantity of fluid being pumped into the assembly and therefore, aboutthe occupant. Thus, in FIGURE 4, several serpentine tubes may bedisposed next to one another and may be attached to a pump through amanifold as well as having only a single tube for fluid introduction.Further, the several tubes may be attached to two or more manifolds asabove described to result in the desired motion of the air about theoccupant.

In another modification of the invention, valves may be included in themanifold system near the point of origin of each of the tubes such astube 3 and/or they may be placed in strategic places in the header ormanifold 4. The feed of the fluids could then be adjusted or the fluidflow could be diverted completely to and from whole areas of thecirculation or distribution assembly by manipulating such. mechanicalvalves. The valves may be controlled by an external remote valve orplurality of valves, as desired.

It is to be understood that although the invention has been described inconsiderable detail in the foregoing, such detail is solely for thepurpose of illustration and variations can be made in the invention bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cushion adapted to support an occupant and to circulate a fluidthereabout comprising an open-celled foam pad and a tubular system forcirculating fluids under pressure, said pad having fluid impervioussidewalls and fluid pervious top and bottom surfaces communicating withits open cells, said tubular system having one or more perforated tubeswhich are less compressible than the pad and which communicate with theopen cells, said tubular system being mounted on an impervious sheetwhich prevents substantial movement of fluid introduced into the saidopen cells in a direction away from said fluid pervious top, and meansfor introducing fluids under pressure into said tubular system.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the tubes fastened to the impervioussheet communicate with a manifold, the impervious sheet being a resinoussheet.

3. The assembly of claim 2 in combination with a mattress lying adjacentto the resinous sheet.

4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the tubes extend in spacedrelationship longitudinally along the adjacent pervious surface.

5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein a rigid structure lies against thebottom fluid pervious surface and the tubes, the rigid structure havingperforations which communicate with the perforations in the tubes.

6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the tube is serpentine.

7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein more than one tube is adapted toreceive the fluids under pressure and one or more of the tubes areconnected to a means for introducing fluid thereto from one directionwhile the remainder of the tubes are connected to a means forintroducing fluid thereto from another direction.

8. The product of claim 1 wherein the foam pad is a rectangularpolyurethane pad having substantially parallel top and bottom surfaces,the fluid impervious sheet is polyvinyl chloride or a copolymer ofpolyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate, the perforated tubes arepolyvinyl chloride and the fluid pervious surface is covered with afluid pervious covering material to aid in the diffusion of the fluid.

9. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein valves are included in the manifoldsystem to adjust the feed of fluids.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,012,042 8/1935 Gerlofson et al.5347 XR 2,750,606 6/1956 Freedlander et a1. 5347 XR 2,826,135 3/1958Benzick 29718O XR 2,826,244 3/1958 Hurley 5347 XR 2,899,689 8/1959 Pastl5347 XR 2,998,817 9/1961 Armstrong 5349 XR 3,137,523 6/1964 Karner 297-lBOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner A, M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl.X.R.

